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Friday, December 5, 2014

Florida judge lifts ban on feeding homeless in public

After a wave of protests and massive backlash, a Fort Lauderdale
judge has temporarily suspended the city’s recent ban on feeding the
homeless in public places.

Broward Circuit Judge
Thomas Lynch on Tuesday suspended the enforcement of the
ordinance that forbids people from feeding the homeless in parks
and other public places in the city. Specifically, the local law
limits the location of outdoor feeding sites and requires groups
providing food to supply portable toilets. The decision is valid
for 30 days pending mediation, reports AP.

Judge Lynch’s ruling comes in response to 90-year-old homeless
advocate Arnold Abbott’s lawsuit challenging the ordinance. The
World War II vet and retired jewelry salesman has been feeding
the homeless at the city’s beaches with his group, Love Thy
Neighbor, for the last 23 years.

“We’re elated the judge has entered the stay,” Abbott’s
attorney, John David, was quoted as saying in the Sun-Sentinel,
Ft. Lauderdale’s main daily, on Tuesday.

Ft. Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler has tentatively come out in
support of mediation.

“We’ve been trying to find some amicable resolution,”
Seiler told reporters this week. “We hope that Mr. Abbott
meets us half way. We’ve asked him to meet us half way in the
past.”

The regulation has faced widespread criticism since it took
effect in late October. Sparking protests across the nation and
promoting the hacktivist collective Anonymous to shut down
several city government websites on Monday, the ordinance was
viewed by many as unfairly targeting the city’s homeless
population.

Last month, Abbott was among those arrested and fined for
continuing to feed the homeless in the face of the ban. Reverend
Mark Sims of St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church was also cited
by the city for unlawful food-sharing. Sims has voiced support
for Judge Lynch’s decision.

“I’m very pleased. I think it’s a great first step for the
city to sit down with a more varied group of people to work out a
plan so we can provide food for everyone who is hungry in the
city, not just those who are in large shelters,” Sims told
the Sun-Sentinel.

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